Automatic web guide



April 14, 1936. wig. NASH AUTOMATIC WEB GUIDE Filed July 23, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet l W W/ 0 7 /w m M/ v 5 V A .Nw' u vw Q m M 1.. V i I u uw m v m. i R mm mm Q le Q km Q 1 Nxi h% N w Aprll 14, 1936. w. c. NASH 2,037,086

AUTOMATIC WEB GUIDE Filed July 23, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zdillz'arn viiz'sfi wrzvetk 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 w. c. NASH AUTOMATIC WEB GUIDE Filed July 23, 1934 April 14, 1936.

. 7 W m 1 "a t A fi Z l 3% J 7 a $0 i wm w U w Patented A r. 14, 1935' AUTOMATIC WEB GUIDE ,William b; Nash, Neenah, Wis assignorofonefifth to Mary Jones and one-fifth to Marie. Duvall Nash, Neenah, Wis., one fifth to William M. Nash, Chicago, 111., and one-fifth to Roy A.

Nash,New Rochelle, N. Y.

Application July 23,1934, serial No. "13 ,441 3-Claims'. (01-242-16) This invention relates to ,impro'vements in a webaligning device and refers specifically to a device for maintaining the travel of a continuouslyl'advancingflexible web, -unrolled from a rollor other source of supply,in a straight line. In feeding webs of paper, fabricorv like flexible material toa device which is'fada'pted to operate onthe advancing web, for instance, to print upon, coat or cut the web, it is usuallynecessary that the lateral edges of" the advancing webbe kept in alignment with the operating mechanism so that a uniform operation can be performed upon the web, and the web be preventedfromtearing -,or i creasing' [In rewinding paperfor fabric {webs from'one roll to another, a similar condition must obtainithat'is, the web drawn from the feeding roll which maybewound in a more or-less hap I hazardmanner, must, when being rewound, be t directed to the receiving roll with its lateral edges in a substantially. straight line...

Io maintain the lateral edges lof continuously] advancingflwebs in alignment with devices operating upon the websorreceiving rolls in thecase of. rewindin'g, it has, heretofore been the practice; to providean index 'forfas certaining alignment and manually controlled means forishiifting the. feeding roll or the web to maintain the same in alignmenti with the index. This, of "coursegrequires; .theiconstant attention of an operator for controlling'thefshifting means.

An object of my inventionfis' to. provide means whereby the advancing web may-beautomatically maintained in desired alignmentand said means U when once adjusted needs no,furtherattention "except to maintain the working parts in proper mechanical repair and properly. lubricated.v

, Briefly described my invention comprises afeeler which is adaptedto continuouslyjcontact the lat-.

eral' edge of an advancing web. Said feelerrmay I be adjustedto a datum orneutral position which is, substantially coincident with :the lateral edge ofthe web when the web is being properly fed forwardly. If the feeler isdisplaced in either direction'from its neutral position bytransverse" motionof the-web, means is actuatedby the feeler to shift. the feeding 1-011 along the direction of its longitudinalaxis whereby the'lateral'ed g'eof the i 5 web is again broughtto the neutral position of thefeeler; 7 I f j c c Other objectsand advantages of my invention ,will' be apparent from the accompanying drawings andfollowlng detail description. In the draw- ,mgs, Fig. i is a side elevationalview of a device h I V wardly extending conicalends or the plane of 55 5" comprising theconceptsof my'invention.

.ings 3'Whereby roll 3' maybe mounted uponxori.

Fig 2 is atop plan view of the device shown in Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional ,vlewtaken on line 3-3 of Fig.1; 1,;

I ,1, H c Fig. 4 is a sectionalyview takenon line 4-'-4,of 6 Fi .2.

Y c Fig. "5' is a sectional view taken on line 5-5. of ig-L. Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 64 0f Fig.1., i -10 Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 11- -1 of Fig. c

Fig. 8 is; awiring diagram of the device shown.

in Figsl-and 2.

1 Fig. 9 isa side elevational viewof a slight modil5 fication of. my invention.

suitablesupport upon which themechanism com-f prising myinvention may be mounted." Stand ardf2 may be mounted upon support I and carries bearing aa at itsupperendn A shaft 4, maybe 5 journalled in bearing 3, saidshaft beingadapted tocarry aroll 3 of paper, fabricor like flexible web-like'm'aterial, shaft 4 beingsuppor'ted at its opposite and ma bearing (not-shown) similarto bearing 3. I Shaft 4 may carry chuck 5 which may. be'rigid- 1y mounted upon said vshaft bymeans'iof set" screw ,6, chuck 5 ,beingfrustro-conical in shape and being adapted to extend into. the hollow in-' terior of roll- 53. A similarchuck (not shown) 35 may be positionedon shaft 4 at the opposite end of roll3. Chucks. 5 are removable from shaft 4- and-said shaft, in turn, is removable from bearre'movedfrom theshaft. c

,The rollmounting assembly: hereinbefore described isconventional and .in itself comprises nopart of my novel concept. Assemblies of this type are used-where it is desired to feedfa web I 1 from roll 3' toa machineorother device' (not 5 shown), which is adapted to operate upon the continuously 'fedweb. Forexamplawebl may be passed to a printing-press, a coating machine,

. a saturant, a sizer, orweb 1 inaybe'simply unwound from roll tfland rewound to form axnew' roll (not shownlh; Asisusually -the-case, '-roll 3' is initially wound'with little orno regard to keeping its lateral edges in alignment. 'I'his,1of

course, results ina roll having outwardly and inthe ends may be otherwise irregular. Obviously, if a web is drawn from a roll of this type, the lateral edges of the web will either progressively shift transversely to the direction of. travelof the web in case the rollhas conical endsorthjline traced by the lateral edges of the web during unwinding will shiftirregularly-in a transverse ditofore been provided whereby an operator may shift said shaft to maintain the advancing web in alignment. This, of course, necessitates the con-' stant attendance of an operator; and reduces the economy of the operation. Moreover, being dependent-upon the human equation,-breakages of the web are not infrequent due to inattentiveness or lack of skill ofthe'operato'r;

As a feature of my invention I provide a'mecna- .nism for maintaining the lateral edges of an advancing web in substantial alignment with the device'or roll to which the web is feeding with out the necessity of manual attendance. The mechanism for accomplishing this result com prises in part a feeler device, indicated generally atainFigg5.

An angle member 9 may be mounted upon the upper portion of standard 2 and maycarry an arm i positioned at substantially right angles to the angle member, said arm being provided with a longitudinal slot Ii. cured to arm I 0 and may be adjustably positioned with respect to said arm. The upright l2 may be pr'ovided with a plurality of threaded apertures 13 which are adapted to receive screw l4; Screw I4 may be provided with heador collar [5 to which hand. wheel It may be rigidly aflixed'. To mount upright I2 upon arm logscrew may be passed throughlslot H and may be threadedly engaged in-oneof the threaded'apertures l3 provided in from roll 3.

Upright l2 may'be curved forwardly and may terminate at its endin bearing II. It shaft I! may be rotatably positioned inbearing 7 i1 and may carry at oneend arm-l9 which in turn, may

' carrypalm 20. 1 If desired,-"a counterbalance 2| may be mounted upon the opposite end of shaft 18. However, itmaybe found; usually depending upontheweight of web I and/or the'weight of palm 20, that a counterbalancefor the palm .will be unnecessary. In view of the fact "thatpalm 20 will-be swung or displacedby -the lateral shifting of the :web Lit is desirable that hearing H be of a low friction type such as aball'beari'ngor the like. Upright I 2; as shownin Figs. 1 and 2,-*is positioned adjacent the path of travel of one of the lateral edges of-web 1 and palm 20 is adapted to'be, maintained in contact withisaid edge by means of coil spring 22 disposed upon shaft 18-, spring 22 being anchored atone-endupon the collar .of counterbalance 2| i and bearing at its opposite end upon an arm 24.-

Arm 24 may beioosely mounted upon shaft l8 thecollar of said armis provided with a:

An'upright' l2-may be se- 1 slot 22'. A pin23 is mounted upon shaft i8 and is adapted to contact the ends of slot 22'. The end of arm 24 carries electrical contacts 25 and 26. A U-shaped member 21 may be mounted upon upright i2, each leg of the U carrying adjustable electrical contacts 21 and 28.

.Upright [2 maybe positionedupon arm Ill in such relationship with respect to the desired path of travel of the lateral edge of web I, that arm 24 is disposed midway between contacts 21 and 28. In this position neither of the contacts 25 or 26 carried by arm 24 are contiguous with contacts 21 or 28 respectively. This position of palm 20 and arm' 2'4 will behereinafter referred to as the neutral position." As can readily be seen, if web shifts; transversely, palm 20 and arm is will swing-one ,directionor the other depending upon the'q-direction that said web shifts, When this swinging action occurs, arm 24 is permitted to swin'gbringing either contacts 25 and 21 together, or contacts 26 and 28 together. When contacts 25 and 21 ;are connectedyan electric circuit is completed which, together with mechanism to be hereinafter described, shifts shaft 4 longitudinal-v ly. Upon the shifting of shaft 4 roll 3' and, hence web "I, will be shifted. This shifting action'causes 1 palm 20, 'which followsthe lateral edge of the web, to swing-thereby swinging arm 24' to its neutral positiom" When contacts 26 and 28 are connected, shaft 4- is'moved in'the opposite direction until arm 24 is again brought to its neu tral position. 1

Bymeans'of the lost motion arrangement between arm 24 and shaft it, palm 20 may be moved an appreciable distance bywebl after arm 24 has made contact and. consequently, when web 1' moves inwardly toward palm 20, said p'alm being' resiliently urged will-not'crush the edges of A frame 2S'may beniounted'upon support i,.

said frame having bearings 30' and II carried at each endthereof. A'screwl32 may be positioned in bearings and il and may be keyed thereto by means of key 33'wherebyrotation of said screw is'prevented. However, screw 22 is provided with an"e'longated keyway '24 whereby said screw may.

move axially within the bearings.

-Within.frame 2Q screw 32 maybe surrounded by collars and Stands ratchet wheel 31 may be mounted upon said screw between the adj a-' cent ends of collars and: 38, said ratchet being threadedly associated with the screw. 'The arrangementis' such that "rotation of ratchet wheel a diamet'ricallyfdisposed slot 46. A bar"4 fl may be positioned in slot 46, said bar'being provided I with slot. 1 'Barnl'llmaybe secured to plate 45 bymeans of capscrew 49 which passes through slot 48. Bythis arrangement bar 41 may be ad justed transverselywith respect to. plate '45. A pin Gamay be positioned upon plate 41 andlink 5| maybe pivotally mounted upon said pin. The

arrangement is such thatpin 50 forms an eccentric, the eccentricity of which may be adjusted 1 by. moving barw4l'in'slot' 46. v

The opposite end of link" 5| maybe pivotally' connected to ill-shaped member ,52 having de-,

pending arms53 and 54, said arms being adapted tobe positioned "respectively on each side of the ratchet wheel 31. At 55 the'pivotal juncture of the Ushaped member 52 and link 5|;link 56 may be connected, the opposite end of said link being pivotally mounted upon platform 38 as at51.

The arrangement is such that when motor 39 is energizedpinion 40 drives gear 42 thereby reducing the angular velocity of shaft 43. As shaft 43 rotates, the U-shaped member 52 oscillates or reciprocates in a'substantially vertical direction, the lateral motion of the U-shaped member being controlled by the anchored link 56. It can readily be seenthat'the motion of the member- 52 is not trulyvertical but takes place along the are described by the radiusor anchoring link 56.

Pawls 58 and 59 may be mounted respectively upon the ends of arms 54 and 53, said pawls being disposed at an angle to'said arms. The pawls 58 -and 59, in addition, are adjustable toward or away from ratchet wheel 3'l.' As willbe hereinafter more fully described, when palm 20 and arm 24 are in their neutral position; in other words, when web 1- is running true, member 52 merely oscillates orreciprocates along the arc hereinbefore described. In this normal or neutral position, pawls 58 and 59 do not contact ratchet wheel 31 and, consequently, no motion of screw 32 takes place. However, when contacts 25 and 21 are connected or when contacts26 and 28 are connected, mechanism, to be hereinafter described, displaces member 54 in one direction or the other, whereby either pawl 58 or pawl 59 contacts and engages with teeth 60 or 6| formed on theopposite peripheralfaces of pawl 31. When this action occurs'the reciprocating motion of member 52 moves ratchet wheel in'onedirection or the other a distance proportionate to the throw of the eccentric mounted upon shaft 43 and inthis manner screw 32 is moved axially in one direction or the'other.

An extension 62 may be mounted upon frame 29 and solenoids 63 and 64 may be mounted upon the upper face of said extension by means of angle members 65 and 66 respectively. An armature .61 may be pivotally mounted upon extension 62 as at 68, the opposite ends of said armature being disposed adjacent the magnetic coils of solenoids 63 and 64. An arm 69 may be rigidly connected to armature 61, said arm at its opposite end being pivotally connected to link 10. Link 16 at its opposite end may be pivotally connected to arm 53 of the U-shaped member 52. I

Referring particularly'to Fig. 8, a wiring diagram of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is illustrated and will be described in conjunction with the operation of'the device.

28 is connected to solenoid 64. Contact 21 is a manner as to bring contacts 26 and 28 together.

This action completes the circuit through solenoid 64 thereby causing arm 61 to rock in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. Arm 61 in so rocking pulls link 16, which, being connected to-member 52,"swings saidmember about the pivot 55 and brings pawl'58 into operative relationship with respect to ratchet teeth 66. Upon member 52 reciprocating upwardly, ratchet wheel 31 is moved upwardly as viewed in Fig. 1 and screw 32 is moved to the right as viewed in'Figs. 1 and 4. If the web l shifts transversely away from palm 26, spring 22causes said palm to follow and remain in contact withthe lateral edge of saidweb and, consequently, contacts 25 and 21 are connected thereby energizing solenoid 63. When said solenoid is energizedarmature 61 is rocked in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed provided-with a semi-cylindrical recess 86 being defined'at each end by semi-annular flanges 81.

Shaft 4 immediately opposite arm carries an.

integral annular flange or head 88, the arrangement being such that arm 85 may be rocked upon screw 32 and the annular flange or bead 88 may register with the semicylindrical recess 86, the flange 88 being confined at each of it sides by the semi-annular flanges 81.

Consequently, it can readily be seen that when shaft 32 shifts axially'either to the right or left,

arm 85 forming a rigid connection between screw 32 and shaft 4, said latter shaft is also moved in unison with the movement of screw 32, and in this manner roll 3' will be moved axially; Hence, the movement of shaft 4 in a direction along its axis takes place in response to variations in the position of palm 20. I

' It can readily be seen that inasmuch as arm 24 tends to occupy a central position between contacts 21 and 28 and if said arm so shifts as to connect contacts 25 and 21 or contacts 26 and 28, the degree of tolerance determining the alignment of thelateral edge of the web 1 is dependent upon the clearance between contacts 25 and 21, and 26 and 28, when arm 24 is in its neutral'position.

A sleeve 89 may be rigidly mounted uponan end of screw 32. Said sleevemaybe connected rigidly to; rod 90 which may terminate in its opposite end in a looped portion 9|. Arm 69 which is connected to armature 61 is positioned within the loop formed at the end of the arm 90. A plurality of registering apertures 92 may be provided in the v upper and lower sides of loop 9| and pins 93 may be positioned within said apertures.

In the operation of this portion of the device it can readily be seen that when screw 32 shifts axially in one direction or the other, one of the pins 93, depending upon the direction of the shift of the screw 32, will be brought into relatively close proximity to arm 69. Consequently, if screw 32 shifts an abnormal distance either ,to the right or left, arm 69 will be stoppedby one of the pins 93 adjacent to said arm and, consequently, that solenoid, either 63 or 64, which is energized by the movement of palm 28, will be prevented from rocking armature 61'and, consequently, member to the left as viewed in 52 will be maintained in its normal or neutral position and will merely oscillate or reciprocate without moving ratchet wheel 31. I

'I'hedevice comprising looped portion 9| serves as a safety device to prevent abnormal shifting of screw 32 and by the provision ofa plurality of apertures 92, the maximum distance through which screw 32 may shift can be varied.

A housing 94 may be mounted upon the rear portion of frame 29 and may beadapted to carry a friction material 95. A coil spring 96 may be positioned within housing 94 and may serve to urge the friction material 95 into contact with the periphery of ratchet wheel 31. By this means wheel 31 isprevented from spinning or moving except when being positively propelled by one or the other'of the pawls carried by arms 53v and 54.

' Although ratchet wheel 3'Iis rotated in one direction or the other, only. when the lateral edge of web I shifts to the rightor le-ft away from its neutral position, motor 39 operates continuously during the entire time that roll 3' is beingunwound.

Referring particularly to Figs. 9 and 10, a slight modification of my invention is illustrated. The device may be mounted upon support I and may comprise a feeding roll assembly similar to that described in conjunction with the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2. For the sake of simplicity and clearness of description, the roll assembly will be designated, without further description, with primed numerals corresponding to the numerals referring to similar parts in the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In this form of my invention the feeler mechanism 8 may comprise a reversing switch having terminals 25, 26', 21', 28, 29' and 30. The reversing switch is of conventional construction that is, terminals 21 and 39' are connected together and terminals 28' and 29' are connected together. v

v A frame 3| may be mounted upon the support I and may carry at its upperportion a motor 32. Motor 32 may be connected to a suitable source of electric current through the reversing switch hereinbefore described. The terminals 25' and 26' being connected to the source of electric current and the terminals 21. 28' and 29 and 39' being connected to motor 32'. A' pinion 33" may be mounted upon the shaft 34 of motor 32'."said pinion being engageable with gear 35' mountedv upon shaft 36' which may be journalled in frame 3|. positioned within guides 38', said guides being carried by frame 3| An arm 39' may be swing ably mounted at the end of rack 31 and may en- -gage with shaft 4 in a manner similar to thempalm 20' similar to palm 20 is adapted to be maintained in contact with the lateral edge of the web. If the web shifts transversely, palm'20' will be displaced in one direction or the other depending upon the direction of the shift of the web. If the web shifts inwardly toward palm 2!), terminals 25' and 26' will respectively contact terminals 21' and 28' thereby completing the electrical circuit to motor 32'. driving said motor in one direction. As can read ly be seen, when motor 32' is energized, rack 31' will be moved longitudinally within guides 38' andrconsequently, shaft 4' will be displaced. Inthe instance described above, metor 32' will run in a direction which is adapted to shlft.shaft 4' to the right as. viewed in Fig. 9. thereby bringing arm 24' into its neutral position A rackv 31"may be slidably 7 and breaking the motor circuit. If the web shifts away frompalm 20', terminals 25' and 26 will respectivelycontact terminals 29' and 30' and the motor 32 will thenbe driven in an opposite direction, namely, a direction which is adapted to move shaft 4' inwardly toward palm 20'. As in the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the shifting of shaft 4' will take place only in response to completion of the circuit through the reversing switch and motor 32 will be operated'only when shaft 4' is to be displaced. Itis" to be understood, of course, that if motor 39 or 32 requires too much current for the usual make and break switch, a suitable relay arrangement is contemplated. The use of relays is not shown or described since the same will be understood by those skilled in the art.- I a Although a direct connection is shown between screw 32 and shaft 4 and rack 31 and shaft 4', referencebeing had to arms 85 and 39', it is to be understood that screw 32 or rack31' may be connected to shaft 4 or l' respectively through a systemofleversinotshown). In this manner the rate of motionof axial displacementof shaft 4 or 4' may be increased or diminished, as desired, and motors 39 or 32' having desired power capaci- .ties may thus be used. I It is apparent that herein is provided a device which will automatically maintain a continually advancing flexible web in substantially constant edge alignment. The device is simple in operation and can be manufactured economically and when the desired initial alignment of the. web is once determined and arms 24 or 24 are set in a neutral position, no further manual attendance is necessary. I

I claim as my invention:

1. A-device for maintaining the lateral edge of a continuously advancing flexible web fed from a roll in substantially constant alignment which comprises in combination, rotatable means for supporting said roll, said means being movable to move said roll axially, a feeler mechanism disposed adjacent a lateral edge of said advancing web and movable with transverse movement of said web, an electric switch actuated by movement of said feeler mechanism to complete an electric circuit, a pair of solenoids connected in said electric circuit, an armature disposed adjacent the cores of said soenoids and movable when oneof said solenoids is energized, a continuously oscillating U-shaped member carrying oppositely disposed pawls, a ratchetwheel positioned within said U-shaped member between said pawls,

said ratchet wheel having oppositely inclined ratchet teeth on each face thereof, means including a screw connecting said ratchet wheel and rotatable roll supporting means whereby said supporting means is moved to axially move said roll when one of said pawls engages and turns the ratchet wheel, one of said pawls being brought into engagement with said ratchet wheel when one of the solenoids is energized.

2. A device for maintaining the lateral edge of a continuously advancing flexible web fed from a rol in substantially constant alignment which comprises in combination, rotatable means for supporting said roll, said means being movable to move said roll axially, a feeler mechanism disposed adjacent a lateral edge of said advancing web and movable with transverse movement of said web, an electric switch actuated by movement of said feeler mechanism to complete an electric circuit, a solenoidconnected in said electric-circuit. an armature disposed adjacent the core of said solenoid and movable when said solenoid is energized, a continuously oscillating pawl, a ratchet wheel positioned adjacent said pawl, means including a, screw connectim said ratchet wheel and rotatable roll supporting means whereby said supporting means is moved to axia'ly move said roll when the pawl engages and turns the ratchet wheel, said pawl being brought into engagement with said ratchet wheel when the solenoid is energized, and means carried by said screw for preventing movement of said armature in response to the energization of said solenoid to prevent excessive axial movement of said roll.

3. A device for maintaining the lateral edge of a continuously advancing flexible web fed from a roll in substantially constant alignment which comprises in combination, rotatable means for supporting said roll, said means being movable to move said roll axially, a feeler mechanism disposed adjacent a lateral edge of said advancing web and movable with transverse movement of said web, an electric switch actuated by movement of said feeler mechanism to complete an electric circuit, a pair of solenoids connected in said electric circuit, an armature disposed be tween the cores of said solenoids and movable when one of said solenoids is energized, a con-- tinuously oscillating U-shaped member carrying oppositely disposed pawls, a ratchet wheel positoned within said U-shaped member between said pawls, said ratchet wheel having oppositely inclined ratchet teethon each face thereof, means gized.

WILLIAM C. NASH. 

